Out of the Shadows
by DarkKing427-FluffKing
Summary: When the past keeps haunting your every memory, and chaos invades your mind, how do you build towards the future? For Fox McCloud and his crew, this struggle is more real than ever. Rated T for action/violence scenes and minor suggestive themes. Editor: Fox MC.
1. Memories(Prologue)

**A/N: Hello, everyone, and welcome to a brand new Star Fox story, Out of the Shadows! I have decided to begin writing this story after recently getting hooked on the Star Fox Series, starting with the remake, Star Fox Zero. To clarify what time period we are in, this story takes place after the events of Star Fox Assault. And the beginning of the story is a memory, anything in italics will mean a memory or thoughts. Thank you, and enjoy reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Star Fox Series or Nintendo, and I respect their copyrights.**

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 _ **Out of the Shadows, Chapter 1: Memories(Prologue)**_

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 _"I can't believe…after all this time. It's really true. He's…"_

 _Rubbing his eyes, Fox McCloud stared vacantly up into the dark ceiling of his room on the Great Fox II. It had been so many years of wondering, so many what if's, so many questions, but now he'd finally be able to get the closure he'd been seeking, even if it did come with a great deal of pain._

 _With a deep sigh, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and gingerly found his feet. Walking over to a small closet in the corner of his room, he began to dress himself for the day to come. To the simple, unknowing eye, it may have just looked like a simple black sports coat, red tie, dark blue dress pants and black leather shoes, but to Fox, these simple articles of clothes meant something so much more._

 _Looking at himself in the mirror, he immediately felt himself welling up._

 _"Father…"_

 _Suddenly, an abrupt voice from his doorway shook him from his morose feelings._

 _"Fox? Come on, we got five minutes before we land! ROB said we might even land earlier than expected!" His teammate Falco shouted as Fox opened the door. The avian was the best pilot he knew. Though arrogant and full of himself sometimes, Falco had always proven to be a great addition to the team and a life-long friend despite his attitude._

 _"I know, I'm sorry," Fox rushed as he fought the tears back in his eyes. "I just never thought this day would come…"_

 _"…It's alright buddy, it's been tough for all of us. Your Father was a hero to all of us, you know?" he sighed. He never liked seeing Fox like this. Falco always felt a little unsure about how to handle these emotional situations, but it felt a little more natural in this case. His father was a huge impact on Fox's life, and they all thought this would never happen. But it did, and now they'd all have to face this moment together._

 _Suddenly, a jarring metallic voice blared from the speakers that lined the hallways of the Great Fox II._

 _"APPROACHING ATMOSPHERE INBOUND! LANDING IN 2 MINUTES!"_

 _Fox and Falco shared a silent nod before starting to walked free of the vulpine's room._

 _"Fox, you got your testimony paper with you?" Falco asked after moments of uncomfortable silence._

 _Fox pulled out a piece of folded up paper from his suit pocket and flashed it at his teammate. "Yes, I do, when will I read it?"_

 _Falco was holding his testimony paper, reading it a few times. After a few seconds, he put it down and responded. "After General Pepper makes his testimony, you will go up first," Fox sighed as they reached their destination, a large room full of bay doors that would soon serve as their exit to Corneria._

 _It was as they entered this room that they were both immediately met with the sad faces of the rest of the Star Fox crew. Krystal, Slippy and Peppy all hesitated momentarily as they watched Fox and Falco somberly approach. Krystal was the first the break the stalemate however, and she quickly closed the distance between herself and Fox to give him a warm, comforting hug. Slippy and Peppy slowly followed suit, offering kind words of their own._

 _The Great Fox II landed with a subtle thud moments later in a designated docking bay on the surface of Corneria. As they walked free from their spaceship, Cornerian guards quickly surrounded and escorted them towards a large auditorium that would serve as the venue for the coming ceremony._

 _As Fox and his team made his way to the auditoriums doors, he saw many looks of sadness and hurt upon the civilians. They too were sad to see James' son having to endure the loss of both his parents. Many of the animals tried to come up and offer support to Fox, offering comforting words and prayers as he passed by._

 _As they reached the auditorium, everyone walked inside the building towards their designated seats in the very front row of the throng of grieving animals._

 _Once everyone had settled, General Pepper, an old and dear from of the Star Fox team entered the stage and began to speak._

 _"Today, we are here to pay our respect and tribute to the former leader of the legendary Star Fox Team, James McCloud," General Pepper said, pausing for a brief breath of air. "We are here today to show our love and support for James McCloud's precious family. Not only have we sensed our own personal feelings of loss over James' passing, but our hearts have been drawn toward them, and will continue to be with them," he paused again, sliding a piece of paper underneath his podium before continuing. "Finally, we are here today to seek and to receive comfort. We would be less than honest if we said that our hearts have not ached over this situation. We are not too proud to acknowledge that we have come here today trusting that he would minister to our hearts, and give us strength as we continue in our walk with him." he finished, causing a light respectful clap to be heard filling up the auditorium._

 _As this went on, General Pepper gave Fox a subtle wave to take his place on stage. Taking a few deep breaths, Fox slowly got up onto the stage and to the stand, holding a pack of papers in his hands. He scanned the audience, most had sad, hurt faces while some were just silent and neutral. Before he began, he stood there with a concentrated look on the audience, sadness beginning to plague his emotions._

 _"…I have a small testimony about my father." He started, breaking the small silence in the room. "My Father was a great animal, and a great role model for my life," he started, shedding a tear before continuing on. "He was the greatest leader of the legendary Star Fox team, and maybe the greatest leader in Cornerian history. I am grateful to have been given the chance to lead the Star Fox team for all these years, to serve in my father's honor," he paused, flipping his papers to the other side as he continued. "I will go on…we'll all go on. I will always love him and will miss him forever. As we sit here today, I know one thing; that he died…saving my life, our lives, our city, and everything we live for. I promise you all…I'll do my absolute best to continue what he started."_

 _As the sound of his words faded from the room, they were replaced with the noises of thunderous applause from around the building. All the animals in the room stood as they cheered Fox's words and courage. His team was the proudest among them, giving Fox glimpses of smiles he had not seen in several days._

 _The rest of the team got up to the stage and gave their testimonies about James McCloud as well. As the funeral service ended, the pallbearers, with Fox as one of them, came forth and lifted the coffin up, and carried it outside into a car where everyone then went to the cemetery. As they arrived, the coffin was then buried and a gravestone was placed with the message:_

 _"In memory of James McCloud, the great leader of Star Fox. May he rest in peace." His name was highlighted in gold, and the tombstone was dotted with various combat medals._

 _As the service ended and everyone had paid their respect to their fallen hero, slowly they began to leave the cemetery, except for Fox and the team._

 _With everyone gone, Fox was finally free to let out the emotion that he'd be hiding over the course of the last few days leading up to the funeral. Kneeling over his Father's grave with his head in his chest, the tears began to flow freely._

 _One after another his teammates came to console him about the events of the days, offering what few comforting words they had left to offer before they too left the cemetery. First was Peppy, then Slippy, then Falco, and last was Krystal. She went over to him, kneeled down to his level, and looked him in the eyes._

 _"Hey, Fox, do you want me to stay here with you?" she asked as the vulpine nodded his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. Krystal wiped them off with her hands, and hugged him. Fox began to cry again._

 _"Why, why did he have to die now!?" he cried angrily, his voice muffled as he was crying into her shoulder. Krystal held him in her arms and stroked his fur._

 _"Fox, I'm so sorry you had to go through this. You did well though...standing up in front of all those animals, speaking from the heart the way you did...your Father would have been proud." She paused for a moment, placing a caring hand on his shoulder before she continued, "We'll all be here to support you, Fox. Remember that..."_

 _Her hand lingered for a bit, hoping that her words had brought some comfort to the grieving vulpine. Moments passed however, and Fox only continued to focus on the grave of his Father. Sensing his desire to be alone in his feelings, Krystal slowly stood at Fox's side. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she could do more for him, but eventually abandoned the notion and turned to follow the rest of the crew away from the scene._

 _What would life be like without his Father? He didn't know, and he couldn't help but cry because he was angry and grief-stricken. Angry that Pigma killed his father, angry that Andross killed his father, and angry that Star Wolf killed his father. All of a sudden, his vision became blurred, reality approaching._

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Fox woke up hastily, breathing heavily and looking around himself. He looked over at his alarm clock. It was only 2:14 AM. He sighed, tears forming once again because of what he just dreamed about.

"Why, why must it be like this!?" he yelled in his room, throwing a book at the wall in anger and grief. Fox then realized what he done, and continued to cry. However, he did not know Krystal stood at the doorway of his room, and she saw him bawling. She wondered if Fox had a nightmare or something, because she had never seen Fox this angry or sad before. Her telepathy gave off quite a strong signal of distress, but why?

"Fox!" she shouted out, causing his crying to slow. He gradually looked up to see the vixen standing before him, which took him a bit by surprise.

"Krystal…What are you doing up?" Fox asked, slowly getting up to pick up the book he threw at the wall and placing it back in its spot on a small shelf.

"My telepathy sensed something was up, so I went to your room and heard crying," she answered, closing the door of his bedroom.

Fox sighed. "It's nothing, Krystal." He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders to sell his indifference, but this attempt was shot down with Krystal giving him a stern look. She was not convinced he was OK. Something was wrong, and he could hear it in his voice.

"It doesn't sound like nothing," she said sternly as Fox looked down. "Fox, you can tell me anything, alright?" the vixen said, sitting down next to the vulpine. Fox tensed up a bit as the weight of the bed subtly shifted.

"You won't judge me because of it?" Fox asked, wiping some tears off of his face. Krystal looked surprised at his response.

"No, Fox, no! I won't judge you no matter what the problem is!" she exclaimed, putting a hand on his shoulder for a few seconds before letting go. Fox twitched at this, but continued.

"Alright, I'll tell you," he started, closing his eyes. "Ever since my father's funeral, I never really got over his death," the vulpine sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. Krystal's eyes widened.

"Fox..." she began in an unsure voice, "What do you mean by that?" she started again, her eyes with a look of worry. Fox's hands began to tremble.

"I rarely get a good night of sleep, sometimes I go without sleep at all, because I'm so terrified. I'm frozen awake in fear and worry, and my mind is plagued with sadness and flashbacks of my father," Fox let out, tears falling on his hands, staining his bed, his breathing becoming fast and irregular.

"How long has this been going on?" she asked, concern heavily evident in her voice. Fox's eyes looked red and sore from all his crying.

"Ever since the funeral!" he shouted, her words seeming to push him over the edge. He started bawling again, sobbing as he buried his head into his pillow. Krystal's eyes began to water a bit. She had never seen him this sad since the day of his Father's funeral. He'd been hiding such intense thoughts and feeling for so long, pent up until hitting this breaking point. It worried her to death.

She placed a gentle hand on the vulpine's head and tenderly rubbed the fur on it. "Fox, listen. I know your Father's death was such a sad and depressing moment in your life, but you must not be afraid to show how you feel," she stated, continuing to stroke his fur on top of his head.

Fox lifted his head out of his pillow. "What do you mean? It shows that I'm insecure and emotional! I should be in control of this!" he shouted, continuing to sob in his pillow.

"No, it doesn't, Fox. It just shows you have a different way of dealing with your grief," she answered, grabbing some tissues to help clean up his face. Fox breathed slowly before he sat back up. "And some like to talk to others about their grief, but you decided to hold all this inside and stay silent. Why?" she asked.

"I was thinking people would think I'm not a brave leader, that I let emotions destroy me. My Father never showed this type of weakness, he would…"

"Fox, stop."

The Star Fox captain was cut short by the suddenly resolute words of the vixen seated next to him.

"Fox, listen. I believe you are a brave leader, and you've done quite a remarkable job. You've led us to safety and victory through many missions and many wars. You've always protected us. Don't think you are alone here, Fox. Remember what I said two years ago on that day?" she asked as Fox closed his eyes.

"That you're all here to help me?" Fox stuttered. Krystal nodded her head in approval.

"Yes, I did. We are all here to help you Fox, we are all here to support you for as long as we live, just like we know you will be for us." the vixen smiled at him sweetly, as Fox also smiled back at her. The tears seemed to stop running from his eyes, and he hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Krystal," he said, holding her in his arms. Krystal continued to smile and held him tighter. "It's easy to forget it's not just me out here in space, it's all of us together…"

"You're welcome, Fox," she answered. After a few moments, they let go and she got up.

"Have a good night sleep, Fox," she stated, leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Fox smiled, and got back into his bed.

"You too, Krystal," he remarked, smiling as he slowly drifted off.

It was one of the best sleeps he'd had in years.

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 **A/N: Thank you for reading, the next Chapter will be up as soon as I can! Feel free to leave reviews and send me ideas if you'd like!**


	2. Old Acquaintances

_**Out of the Shadows, Chapter 2: Old Acquaintances**_

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Fox's eyes reluctantly opened as he let out a gentle yawn. He gave his arms a light stretch and attempted to wipe the sleep from his face. He silently cursed himself for having to wake up after finally getting some proper sleep, but this morning, he and his team had an important debriefing transmission to attend in their command center with General Pepper, one that he couldn't afford to miss for merely the sake of his lately hectic sleep schedule.

With this in mind, he arduously threw his legs over the side of his bed, standing with a slight grunt as he made his way into his quarter's bathroom for a quick shower, shortly after getting dressed in his usual attire, along with his headset. He exited his room and went down the hall to the elevator leading to the command center.

The vulpine hit the button for the elevator, his mind filled with the events of the previous night. Krystal was such a dear to him, and ever since she helped console him, Fox began to think of her more often. He made a silent promise to himself that somehow in the future, he'd return the favor.

Suddenly breaking him from his thoughts, he heard Falco's voice ringing down the halls.

"Fox, wait for me!" he shouted. He came towards Fox wearing his usual red jumpsuit, white jacket, gray tanker boots, and his headset.

"Falco, you ready for today?" Fox asked, adjusting his headset. Falco gave him a wry smile.

"Yes I am, Fox. I also heard what happened last night," he chuckled as Fox's eyes grew wide.

"What are you talking about?" Fox responded in a deflecting voice, trying to hide what Falco was hinting at, but Falco saw right through him.

"You can't fool me, Fox. I know about your little rendezvous." Falco gave him a stern look before breaking and laughing again. Fox's face lit up in a bit of anger.

"How do you know?" The vulpine growled through his teeth.

"I heard a loud crash, and it woke me up, so I went to investigate and saw the door to your room was closed. I cracked the door to take a quick peek and saw you and Krystal together. Wonder what that could mean?" the avian pondered, the smile still on his face. Fox felt his cheeks blush.

"It's not what you think it is!" he shouted as Falco chuckled.

"I know, Fox, I didn't think you two would be a thing quite yet," Falco laughed, "But seriously, what happened? Were you hurt?"

"Well…not really hurt. I had a flashback of the day of my Father's funeral back on Corneria…" Fox began, trying to fight a tear that made it out of the corner of his eye. "I broke down thinking about it… Krystal overheard me and came in to console me about it," he ended, stealthily wiping his eyes with his hands. Falco's eyes widened.

"Oh geez…I'm sorry about that, Fox. I wish I was there to help," he managed to respond, his words slightly awkward and uncomfortable. "…But I am glad Krystal helped you,"

As these words were spoken, the elevator doors opened, and both stepped inside. "We going to the break room to get breakfast?" Falco asked. Fox nodded his head as Falco pressed the button to go down to the break room.

"Thank you, Falco," Fox said.

"You're welcome, Fox, anything for my leader," Falco answered, giving him a sloppy salute, which the vulpine chuckled at. The elevator stopped at the break room floor, and the doors opened, allowing Falco and Fox to step out of the elevator. They both went over to the coffee maker and began to make a large pot of coffee. Fox made sure to prepare extra for Krystal when she came down. Slippy was sitting at one of the tables with a lot of papers near him. Noticing this, Fox and Falco approached the preoccupied toad.

"Hello Fox, Falco. How are you guys doing?" Slippy asked, taking a sip of coffee. They sat down at the table, grabbing a few chairs.

"Good, how are you doing, Slippy?" Falco asked, pulling out a sheet of paper. "What are all those stacks of papers for?" he then asked, pointing to them with his wing.

"I'm drawing up some ideas I have to add better defenses to the ship to prevent future attacks," Slippy answered, studying over one blueprint in particular. It looked like a dual laser gun. Fox looked concerned.

"Why would you think we'd be attacked?" he asked. Slippy sighed, writing on his blueprints.

"I just fear we have another war approaching. There's this weird feeling in me about it, and I'm scared," he admitted, putting his papers in a folder, while discarding one of the stacks of papers. Falco and Fox gave each other questioning glances. Another war? What could this mean, and who could be this enemy?

"Don't worry about it, Slippy. We'll be ready if war strikes, and we will talk to General Pepper about funding these defenses if possible," Falco answered as the coffee maker beeped. Fox went over and poured three glasses of coffee, and set them at the table as they continued bouncing ideas off of one another. They heard the elevator doors open, allowing their blue-furred teammate entrance into the room.

"Hello, how is everyone this morning?" Krystal asked, smiling as Fox handed her a cup of coffee.

"We're doing good, we've been discussing the what possible defenses to add to the ship," Fox answered.

"We were thinking of possibly upgrading the ship's hull, and some improved laser systems on the front and back of the Great Fox II to help better fight off possible enemy strikes," Falco chimed in, getting up to clean out his coffee mug in the sink before going to the washroom.

"Why not add some new rooms or assets to the ship?" Krystal asked.

"Sounds like a great idea, Krystal. Did you have anything specific in mind?" Fox asked, putting his empty coffee mug in the sink. She smiled, looking at a sheet of paper she was holding.

"As a matter of fact I do," she said with a smile, feeling grateful to be given the chance to share her ideas. "I was thinking perhaps a game room of some sort? I feel that at sometimes we could use better facilities to relax after a lot of heavy conflict and battle over the years," she answered, revealing a quickly-drawn floor plan she had created. Fox nodded his head in approval and handed the sheet back.

"Looks good, Krystal! I'll talk to General Pepper about funding it," he answered, smiling at her. Krystal nodded and sipped her coffee. A few minutes later Falco returned from the washroom, shortly after which Peppy made an abrupt appearance into the area.

"Guys, we've got to report to the command center. General Pepper will be waiting on us," Peppy ordered. The team all quickly stood and made their way out of the room and down the hall, up some stairs, and into the command center. A round glass table was in the center, with some computers and a large screen hanging on the other side of the room. Everyone sat down and waited patiently until General Pepper came on the transmission screen.

"Good morning, Star Fox!" General Pepper saluted in a loud and delighted voice. Fox returned the salute, along with everyone else.

"Morning, Pepper! How are you doing?" Fox asked, smiling. General Pepper chuckled before holding a sheet of paper in his hands.

"Well, I'm doing well so far, but let's get to the heart of the matter. I'd like to go over the recent mission," he stated, flipping through his pack of papers until he came across a classified folder and opened it up.

"This mission to Zalphalon, a barren, desert-like planet. We've had reports of enemy troops being stationed there. We sent three officers to the planet for recon; Officer Snow, Officer Garrett, and Officer Puma. All three were on their way using fighter craft. What's the current status on those three?" Pepper asked, closing the classified folder.

"No status on those three, General," Fox answered, looking through his communicator for transmissions. None came up. Falco and the others also checked for transmissions. None as well.

"Those three are the best in our exploratory missions, we can't lose them! If we sent them to this planet and they are lost, they don't have any way of survival on such a barren planet!" the general shouted, as everyone looked at each other in worry. "How is the ship holding up?" he then asked. Slippy stood up with a sheet of paper.

"We have minor damage in the hull, and we've been having some difficulties with our camera system," he explained, looking at the schematics of the cameras.

"And we've been thinking about adding defenses and new additions to the ship," Fox chimed in as Falco looked at the screen. Something was odd. The screen flashed static a couple times, and the transmission began to become choppy.

"Uh, Fox. What's going on with the screen?" Falco asked worriedly, pointing at it in concern.

The image of General Pepper instantly dissolved and was instead lit up with static noises and grainy pictures. Fox's eyes widened as Slippy went over the screen.

"Slippy, what's going on!?" he asked urgently as the rest of the team got up and walked over to the screen. Slippy then went to the control panel, and tried to switch back the screen, but to not avail, the static continued.

"I don't know! The transmissions module is jammed! Either a satellite is down, or someone is trying to hack in!" he answered, furiously typing command after command into the control panel. All Fox and the others could do was watch, hoping the static would stop.

Unexpectedly, the static indeed did all of a sudden stop, but it was not the face of General Pepper that filled the screen as it had moments before. Instead, a very familiar face came on the screen.

"We meet again, Fox McCloud," Wolf O' Donnell glared into the camera, a wicked smile on his face. Shock spread on everyone's faces. Fox stood there with his eyes frozenly open.

"Wolf, you hacked into our transmission!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him. Wolf laughed demonically.

"Yes I did, Fox. I was hoping you could guess that," Wolf answered, holding his blaster in his hand.

"Why did you do this and what do you want?" Fox asked angrily as Wolf continued to show his wicked smile.

"Your days are numbered, Fox," Wolf began, flashing his claws at the screen. Fox raised his eyebrows.

"Star Fox's time as the saviors of Lylat are coming to an end," laughing demonically he paused again, as Fox put his head down for a moment.

"Soon the name Star Wolf will be the name on everyone's lips, and you'll be a thing of the past," he continued, his fangs becoming visible in the camera. Falco's mouth dropped in shock and fear, looking at Fox who continued to stare at the screen in shock. Krystal looked on, a slight hint of anger in her eyes. Why was Wolf being like this?

"You were naïve to think we'd actually team up with you during the Aparoid War. We were merely watching you the whole time, you see," Slippy looked at a security camera mounted at the doorway. The red light turned on and panned over to the team. Wolf then turned on a switch, the team then came on the screen. Everyone looked on in shock. The security cameras were able to be hacked into and used against them.

Fox was angry merely at the fact that he had let himself think that Wolf had possibly changed for the better, but it was plainly evident how wrong he was. He never expected Wolf to be this menacing, and the thought of Star Wolf attempting to rise up and wipe out the Star Fox team in this way was such a suddenly fearful idea.

"Learning your weaknesses, your tactics…and maybe most importantly of all, learning how easy it would be to hack into your systems," Peppy's eyes lit up in anger. How could Wolf betray them like this? It was inexcusable.

"Watch your back, Fox McCloud. We've got big plans…enjoy your life, while you still have it. We'll see you soon…" Star Wolf gave one last demonic laugh before the screen powered off.

"That can't be!" Krystal shouted, looking at Fox, who was frozen in his chair. She walked over to him, staring at his eyes. "Fox, are you OK?" she then asked. His eyes sat wide open, he was just too frozen in shock to speak. How could Wolf betray him, nevertheless be watching their every move?

"Fox, what do we do?" Falco asked, staring at Fox.

The vulpine continued to sit in silence, frozen in time.


End file.
